Will Andre Onana start for Man United against Lyon in the Europa League?
Manchester United are in need of a dominant performance as they aim to defeat Olympique Lyonnais in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarterfinals at Old Trafford on Thursday (17 April, 2025). Andre Onana has been in the headlines for a long time. The Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, meaning they must win at home to progress to the semifinals.
There has been some confusion over who exactly will feature in the goalkeeping role for Ruben Amorim’s side for this clash. This is because of Andre Onana putting in an error-prone performance in the first leg, causing him to be dropped in the Red Devils’ recent 4-1 loss to Newcastle United in the Premier League. Well, Amorim has himself had to clarify on who should be expected to feature in goal for his side.
Will Andre Onana Start Against Lyon?
Despite having dropped Onana for the Newcastle United loss, the Portuguese coach has confirmed that the Cameroon international will start in the upcoming clash against Lyon at Old Trafford. He’s made it clear that Altay Bayindir will not be starting his second consecutive game after his poor performance during the loss at the weekend.
Speaking on this issue, Amorim claimed: “I am trying to be clear on things, try to make the evaluation, be simple, not overthink. When I imagine the game, I see André Onana. He had one weekend of rest, so now he is ready to return to competition, and I chose André to start this game. When I made that decision, I talked before with André, and that is important – to explain to the player to understand what I am thinking.”
About Andre Onana’s Season With Manchester United
The Cameroonian goalkeeper has had an eventful 2024/25 season with the Red Devils so far, experiencing quite a few highs and lows. He has kept nine clean sheets in 31 Premier League games during this campaign, but also conceded 41 assists over that period as well.
Onana has featured in nine games for Manchester United in their Europa League campaign, where they remain undefeated in the 2024/25 season. However, he’s conceded 12 goals in that period and only kept one clean sheet (which was in the 2-0 win over PAOK). Onana had a forgettable game against Lyon on the trip to France, making a horrible miscalculation for Thiago Almada’s opening goal by letting his free kick go through him into the goal.
With the Red Devils holding a 2-1 lead, he made another error in stoppage time by parrying a shot into the path of Rayan Cherki, allowing him to make it 2-2. Onana will hope to make amends with a strong performance at Old Trafford and guide his side closer to achieving their dream of winning the Europa League title.
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